History of Israel Palestinian Wars

If you believe that the latest cease fire in Gaza you need to think about the history of Israel’s fight for survival.

When the UN voted to partition the British Mandate on
November 29, 1947, Palestinian Arabs, with the help
from Arab states, launched attacks against Israel
to seize the entire Mandate. On May 14, 1948, Israel
declared independence and was immediately invaded
by the armies of five Arab nations: Egypt, Syria,
Transjordan, Lebanon, and Iraq. The newly formed
Israeli Defense Force (IDF) managed to prevail after
fifteen months of war.

THE SIX-DAY WAR (1967)
Israel was forced to defend itself when Syria, Egypt,
Jordan, and Iraq intensified their attacks and Egypt
illegally blocked Israel’s access to international waters
and expelled UN peacekeeping forces. Four Arab
countries mobilized more than 250,000 troops in
preparation for a full-scale invasion. Israel preempted
the invasion in a defensive war and managed to
capture the West Bank from Jordan; Gaza and
the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt; and the Golan
Heights from Syria

An infographic depicting the timeline of conflict in Gaza.

The focus of the RAND study was on the five-year period between the end of Operation Cast Lead in 2009 and the end of Operation Protective Edge in August 2014.

Dec. 27, 2008 – Israel launches a 22-day military offensive in Gaza after Palestinians fire rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot. About 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis are reported killed before a ceasefire is agreed.

The Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, launched a ground invasion of the Gaza strip on Aug. 7, 2014, with the goal of destroying Hamas’ widespread network of underground tunnels that were being used to stow rockets.

In 2018 on May 29, Gaza’s Hamas rulers said they had agreed to a cease-fire with Israel to end the largest flare-up of violence between the two sides since a 2014 war.

Egypt mediated a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which came into effect on 21 May 2021, ending 11 days of fighting in which both sides claimed victory.

October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks Israel and Israel is at war with Hamas again.

When will this end?

My guess is NEVER!

Israel – The Miracle – Nothing to do with War and Religion

This really is worth watching!

David Bancroft

Obama the Naive

President Barack Obama “delivered an impassioned appeal Thursday for Israel to recognize that compromise will be necessary” to achieve lasting security and reverse international isolation. This was reported in an AP article.

A short review of history tells us that Israel cannot provide any more compromises than have already been given.

Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters gathered in Gaza City near a large replica of an M-75, a Hamas rocket, that bore the words “Made in Gaza.”

Hamas is the group that functions as the Gaza government. Hamas does not recognize the right of Israel to exist. Without that recognition there can be no legitimate negotiations. Khaled Meshal, the political leader of Hamas gave a defiant speech this past December vowing to build a Palestinian state on the land of Israel. In that speech he vowed to remove every inch of Israel and that that there is “no legitimacy for Israel.”

Israel did withdraw from the Gaza strip leaving behind many buildings. They were all destroyed by the Palestinians. Hamas now uses Gaza as a base to shoot rockets into Israel and in fact was shooting rockets as President Obama spoke to Israelis today.

Precisely what compromise would Mr. Obama propose?

David Bancroft

Is America Finally Understanding the World?

The answer to the question is “maybe not.”

Almost 4,500 American solders lost their lives in Iraq. Thousands more were seriously injured. Was it worth the harm? I do not see sufficient benefits to justify the investment.

President George W. Bush really believed that the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan was the right thing to do.

You could argue that the information about WMD was faulty and that should have been enough to deter the invasion of Iraq. We really do not know what was in Mr. Bush’s mind nor what he was really told.

The invasion of Afghanistan was easier to justify. The Taliban refused to extradite al-Qaeda leaders to the United States. al-Qaeda was the group that carried out the World Trade Center attack.

Mr. Bush argued that part of our mission was to spread democracy to Islamic nations that had lived under tyranny for hundreds of years. The idea of spreading democracy is a wonderful theory that looks good on paper. The problem is that most of the people in those countries do not understand the ideas of Western Democracy. Those that do, do not accept the basic premises of western freedom and democracy. It’s those words in the American Declaration of Independence that best express the idea of our system of society and government. Let’s be honest, it took America 89 years to actually implement our own ideals. That’s the time from the American Declaration of Independence to the end of the American Civil War.

So how can we expect Iraq, Afghanistan, or other Middle Eastern Islamic nations to become Western democracies in just a year or two? We Can’t!

Thus the United States needs to be concerned with its own survival in a world where many of the players have alternate ideas of how government and society should function. I believe that President Obama has not yet fully understood this reality. Why? 1) Our lack of preparation for an attack at Benghazi. 2) The mild response to North Korea’s stated intention to shoot a nuclear weaponized rocket at the United States. 3) The lack of progress in talks with Iran.

North Korea and Iran have stated repeatedly that they consider the United States their enemy. They have stated their hatred on numerous occasions. North Korea has stated it is preparing a nuclear armed missile that will target the U.S.A. Iran had states that their first target is Israel followed by the United States.

We should be concerned and we should be prepared. Neither North Korea nor Iran has participated in real talks to end the ongoing diplomatic conflicts. There is nothing that has been reported that indicates that there will be a reduction in the disagreements we have with these two countries.

Unless a new approach to the two America haters is developed I predict there will be a war with both of them. I hope President Obama has made adequate preparations.

Why There is No Peace Between Israelis and Palestinians

Israel’s fight for its people and its right to exist has not changed since the United Nations created the state in 1948. The Arab nations refused to recognize Israel then. Today Arabs still refuse recognition of Israel.

Here is the way Palestinians pour fuel on the fire.

From the Daily Beast:
Hamas Head Defiant in Speech
That’s the way to foster peace! The political head of Hamas, Khaled Meshal, addressed a crowd of thousands at the 25th anniversary of the Islamic group, saying that Israel would be wiped out through “resistance” or military might. In case that wasn’t clear, he added that an Islamic Palestinian state in Israel would not be conceived through negotiations. The speech, given in Gaza City, marks the first time Meshal has been back in Gaza in 45 years since his exile. Aside from the usual “we’ll never recognize Israel as a legitimate state” speech, he said that the ceasefire was a great military achievement for Hamas.

Read more at this New York Times report.

David Bancroft

Palestinian will hate Israelis Forever

A letter to the editor in the Los Angeles Daily News

Israel Defends Itself

Most of us were brought up to defend ourselves when someone threatens us. Israel is no different. This mighty country is surrounded by countries wanting to wipe it off the map. This will never happen. In the Six-Day War, Israel went to war and won. They won the war and the land. To keep peace, they gave back land that was rightfully theirs. It didn’t work. They’ve been attacked by hundreds of rockets aimed at the country by militants in the Gaza Strip. Israel needs to enter Gaza and seek out the missile installations and put them out of commission. Their enemies will try to supply them with
more weapons, but in the meantime, there will be peace. And maybe, just maybe, it will stick. One can only hope.

Ron Sellz, Chatsworth, California

Let’s be clear. The fight between Arabs and Israelis is not easily resolved. Each group has valid arguments supporting their positions and objectives. The battle of Israelis goes back to the years before there was a State of Israel. This small country is only the size of New Jersey. It was created from what was a British Mandate authorized after World War 1. The Arabs hate the idea of a Jewish State that was agreed to by the United Nations.

Without going through all the wars that Israel has fought, that country is still hated by its Arab neighbors and has been confronted by terrorists who have only one objective; destroy Israel at any cost and drive its citizens into the Mediterranean Sea. Hamas leader, Khaled Meshal, who has lived in exile in Syria, said today, “Get out of our land.” Another spokesperson said Zionists cannot control even one inch of Palestinian land. The objective of Hamas is the total destruction of Israel.

My question: How can you negotiate with an enemy who retains its objective of total destruction of your country? The answer is, You can’t. The negotiated truce is just a temporary situation. Hamas still maintains its objective.

I do not see a solution to the Israel Palestinian confrontation ever!

David Bancroft

Does Islam Wish to be the Enemy of the West?

The answer appears to be YES! In communities throughout Europe Sharia law has replaced government law. In my own community Muslims refuse to obey local parking ordinances on Fridays when parking their cars before entering their mosque.

WordPress provides a daily report to me that indicates the nations of the readers of Coastcontact. Just this past Friday, October 12 there were at least seven visitors from Saudi Arabia. Many other Middle Easterners from many Islamic nations have also visited this site. I was interviewed by The Pakistani Spectator a few years ago too. However, there have been almost no comments or challenges by Muslims to my obvious Western views.

Without a dialog there cannot be a peace.

My primary target has been Islamic treatment of women. In my view they are treated like property. Many are denied education, kept wrapped in tents (called burqa), and are treated as little more than slaves or concubines.

However, many Muslims are migrating to Western Europe and America to obtain a better life without wanting to pay the price of throwing off their “old world” customs.

Pictures like this tells of a wish to convert the entire world to your way of life. These pictures are of Muslims marching through the STREETS OF LONDON during their recent ‘Religion of Peace Demonstration.’

Tell us all here in this blog what you want.

Government Lies to the Public Won’t Protect Mistakes

Does our government believe the people are stupid?

U.N. Ambassador, Susan Rice, went to every Sunday morning TV talk show on September 16 to tell viewers and the hosts that the attack on the Benghazi, Libya consulate was not a premeditated act of terrorists but was simply an over zealous group of protesters. I did not believe her contentions.

Machine guns and RPGs were focused directly at that building in Benghazi and the terrorists followed the staff to a secondary facility over a mile away and continued firing their weapons. It just did not sound like an unplanned demonstration.

Finally today CNN reports, “The U.S. intelligence community has revised its assessment of the deadly attack on the American consulate in Libya, saying it now believes it was a deliberate terrorist assault.”

“At every turn Ambassador Rice provided — and said she was providing — the best information and the best assessment that the administration had at the time, based on what was provided to Ambassador Rice and other senior U.S. officials by the U.S. intelligence community.”

I cannot fathom the purpose of Rice’s appearance on all those TV programs. Had she said “we do not know enough to conclude that the attack was conducted be a terrorist group and more information needs to be obtained.” That would have been sufficient. Instead her insistence that the attack was not conducted by a terrorist group makes her look like someone who was trying to mislead the public. The administration’s sloppy handling of this event will bring on a congressional investigation.

My guess is that the administration is trying to cover up an error in judgment somewhere in the government. Someone is being protected!

Innocence of Muslims

“Innocence of Muslims” is the Muhammad movie by Sam Bacile (which is believed to be an alias for Nakoula Basseley, a Coptic Christian from Egypt) that caused Muslims to kill United States ambassador, J Christopher Stevens. The anti Islamic video claim Islam is a lie and Mohammed was a pedophile.

The movie clip is a clumsy effort to identify Mohammed as a sadistic killer, a rapist and a plunderer. The use of this clip as a justification to attack American embassies is difficult to understand as the government of the USA has supported the Arab Spring. If Muslims believe that all non-Muslims must be killed than the message is communicated. Many Islamists must be happy to watch the unjustified attacks we have witnessed this past week.

My opinion is the United States should minimize its connections with an Arab world. Another reason to end our reliance on Arab oil.

History Repeats Itself in the Middle East

A senseless movie clip is obviously being used as a motivator to commit crimes against Americans in Muslim countries and nations with high Muslim populations. It has been reported that some of the rioters have been using relatively sophisticated weapons such as rocket propelled grenade launchers (not exactly the kinds of weapons in the hands of most rioters). Relying on television reporting, I can only conclude that these riots are not spontaneous but are the work of Al-Qaeda and other associated groups.

Some people are comparing the attack on the embassy in Libya to the hostages taken by Iran in 1979. They are incorrect. Republicans who are condemning Obama should recall the death of American marines in Lebanon during the Reagan presidency. 241 American servicemen were killed in that October 1983 massacre. Major motivation for that bombing was the ill will generated by the Multinational Force (MNF) among Lebanese Muslims, especially Shiʿa living in the slums of West Beirut and around the airport where the Marines were headquartered. That MNF group was there to bring peace to that war torn nation. President Reagan ordered the marines to begin withdrawing from Lebanon immediately after the bombing. Their withdrawal was completed on February 26, four months later.

There was no serious retaliation for the Beirut bombing from the Americans. We never seem to learn!